Poole Has Nice Performance At Capital City Classic

DOVER,
Del.-Back in their first tournament in more than two months, the North Carolina
A&T bowling team finished 2-9 at the Capital Classic, going 2-3 in team
matches, 1-3 in bakers matches and 0-3 in bracket competition at the Brunswick
Doverama bowling alley.

Sophomore
Cherise Poole had a strong performance, bowling a 201 in the first team match
and a team-best 212 in the fourth team match.
She ended the day with a team-best 903 total after team matches, which
placed her 17th amongst all bowlers with an average of 180.6. Senior April
Terry bowled a 206 in the second
team match against Norfolk State, and was the only other A&T bowler to
break 200. Terry finished the tournament
27th in individual standings with an 851 total and a 170.2 average.

"The team performance was better than the last tournament we
attended, which is what you expect," said head coach James Williams. "The spare
percentage was up on the first two days.
The amount of quality shots were up as well. I'm proud of the team for
not giving up or allowing things to affect them in times
when they needed to be focused and strong for each other."

The
Aggies faced four of the Top 20 collegiate bowling teams ranked by the National
Tenpin Coaches Association poll in the Capital Classic, which was hosted by
fellow MEAC foe, Delaware State. In
attendance at the Classic were No. 10 New Jersey City, No. 13 Delaware State,
No. 14 Norfolk State and No. 20 St. Francis College (N.Y.) as well as six other
teams.

The
Aggies picked up a pair of wins against Howard and Bethune-Cookman in team
matches, defeating their opponents 889-767 and 833-764 respectively. A&T lost to No. 20
St. Francis, 923-758
and fell to No. 14 Norfolk State, 857-781.
No. 14 Delaware State defeated A&T by a 916-774 final in team play. Poole's 201 score
helped the Aggies take down
Howard. Amber Brown bowled a team-high
191 in their victory against Bethune-Cookman.

On
Saturday, the Aggies competed in bakers matches. The Aggies narrowly lost, 621-608
against
Florida A&M in the first match.
A&T then took on Hampton, and fell, 686-633. The Aggies lost their third match by 705-
685
to Morgan State before finishing the day on a high note with a 643-514 win
against Tulane. They bowled a bye round
in the fifth match.

On
Sunday, the teams were placed into a bracket.
The Aggies lost all three games, starting with a 4-3 loss to Hampton,
followed by a 4-3 loss to Florida A&M and a 4-1 loss to Howard.

But
Williams saw much to be proud from in the tournament.

"There is continued growth on this team-that's a positive,"
Williams said. "This was a good measuring stick for us. It lets us know that what we have
been
working on the last month and a half has been effective, and gives us more
direction on what to focus on for the MEAC Competition in 3 weeks."

The
Aggies will compete again next weekend at the Morgan State Invitational from
Feb. 17-19 in Perry Hall, Md. They have one more regular-season tournament, the
3rd MEAC Southern Division Tournament, before the MEAC Championship
Tournament,
which will be held in Greensboro.